Nature
by 19844twfic
Summary: Jack has an issue with nature


The hub was unusually quiet. No red alerts, nor weevils in the cells, not even the buzz of a computer program trying to solve an equation. It was a Saturday and as the hot summer air leaked into the underground base from the bay above. Jack Harkness emerged from his office. He furrowed his brow, looked at the un-alarmed computer screen and bit his lip.

"Are all the systems working properly?"

"Yes." Ianto didn't take his eyes away from the paperwork he was reading. "They're always working, I make sure of that every morning."

"Are you sure?" Jack tapped his finger on the screen and watched the rift indicator signal as it showed no sign of activity. "It looks pretty calm, unusually calm. Too calm."

"You know you don't need to have a major crisis every day of the week Jack. Just because we're not racing around saving the world it doesn't mean something is wrong. It's just a slow day."

"Where's Gwen anyway?" Jack asked, looking around. "Isn't she usually in by now?"

"Llanelli. Rhys surprised her with a romantic caravan holiday, if such a thing exists."

"And why wasn't I told?" Jack stood with his hands on his hips noticeably unimpressed. "Or do people just not bother telling me anything any more?"

"I would have told you if you weren't incapable of keeping a secret."

"That's not true!"

"Really? Now let's see here... Gwen's surprise party that Rhys held for her last birthday, how did that secret keeping go?"

"That was one time!" Jack said, defending himself. "I didn't know it was a secret."

"Well, and excuse me if I'm missing something here, but how exactly can you have a surprise party that isn't a secret. Knowing about the party kind of dismantles the illusion, and indeed the impact of the surprise."

"Do you have an answer for everything?"

"Yes."

Jack was silent again for a moment and started to walk back towards his office; suddenly, he stopped and walked over to Ianto, he asked, hovering over his shoulder. "No rift activity of any kind?"

"Nothing." The younger man sighed and shrugged off his jacket. "I think all alien threats are staying away due to the heat." He loosened his tie and switched on the fan on the desk. "And I for one don't blame them. It's bloody hot in here."

"It's the heat that's making me suspicious."

"What?" Ianto turned around in the swivel chair and looked amused. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back. "Nice weather makes you suspicious?"

"It's Wales."

"And?"

"It's not raining."

"I see your point, but you know it's not completely unheard of."

"Not only is it not raining, but the sun is actually shining." Jack got an image of the bay up on Ianto's computer screen. He watched as hoards of people made their way over the plass in summer dresses, shorts and sandals; children carried ice-creams and lollies and wore no coats. "It's just not normal."

"You're not actually serious," Ianto rolled his eyes and stood up.

"They're not even carrying coats as a matter of precaution in case it rains." Jack took the younger man's seat and looked even closer at the monitor. "This isn't normal Welsh behaviour. There's something not right."

"Oh God, you are actually serious." He sighed heavily and switched the monitor off. "Come with me, I think you need a little relaxation."

"What?"

"With me. Now." He grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him up, then picked up a device from the desk and put it in his pocket. "I have the rift detector just in case and have programmed it to send any fluctuations as a red alert, so if anything happens we'll be the first ones to know." He pushed Jack towards the lift as he typed something into the hand held monitor.

"I need my-"

"No coat today." The Welshman stood with Jack on the lift, pressing a few buttons on the device.

"Whoa." Jack held onto Ianto for once. "How the hell did you do that?" He looked confused. "I thought I was the only one that could do that."

"You really think that I don't have a few gadgets of my own?" Ianto smiled. "How do you think I'm so good at Naked hide and seek?"

"You're rubbish at naked hide and seek."

"Maybe I like to lose. What I mean is, I could be good at it if I really wanted to."

When they got to the top Ianto stopped Jack from leaving and faced him for a moment; he tugged at the Captain's braces and ran his hands down to the belt.

"Today," he said, "you're going to look like a normal person. Normal people don't wear braces and a belt."

"I do."

Ianto unfastened them and dropped them onto the stone.

"Not today you don't." He took Jack's hand as the oblivious people passed by and stepped down from the lift. They walked for a while in the sunshine and heat, passing people enjoying the nice weather.

Jack looked at people as they passed, following them with his gaze as they walked towards them, then continuing to stare at them over his shoulder until they had left his vision. He tightened his grip on the Welshman's hand and leaned into him, staring at people like a child staring at a man with an eye patch and a wooden leg. "This seems wrong."

"You must be one of the only people I know who doesn't like to have a walk on a sunny day." Ianto gestured to the sky with his free hand. "It's beautiful. Blue skies, no sign of rain, just enough of a breeze to keep you from feeling the heat too much. This is nature at it's best."

"Not natural," Jack corrected, "It's wrong."

"Okay." Ianto led Jack to the steps that lined the oval basin and sat down; the ground was hot from the sun and the blue sky overhead showed no sign of fading. "You can travel in time, visit worlds that you never even knew existed and witness the end of the world, but a sunny day in Cardiff gets you like this?"

"It feels odd."

"Nothing is going to happen," Ianto promised. "I guarantee you that by next week it'll be raining again."

"Really?"

"Forecast for showers by the end of next week."

"I would still prefer to be somewhere else." Jack put his hand on the Welshman's knee and let it creep a little further up his thigh than it should have in public. "Somewhere with air conditioning and ice cubes."

Ianto stood up and pulled the Captain with him. "What is it with you and your dislike of nature?"

"I don't dislike nature, I just like ice." Jack slung his arm around his lover and headed back towards the direction they had come from. "This planet has an obsession with nature; about what's natural and what isn't."

"That is true."

The Captain leaned into the Welshman's ear. "For example, some may say that what I have in mind for our afternoon activity is unnatural."

Ianto tried to keep the smile away, but it broke through his lips like sunlight through a window. "You do have some very strange uses for ice cubes."

"Like you don't enjoy it."

"I never said that."

Jack kissed Ianto cheek and let his hand slide away from his shoulder; he gripped onto the Welshman's hand, lacing their fingers together. "And for the record, I much prefer walks in the rain."


End file.
